Oil consumption delimma

[VeeDubb]

A friend of mine has a new VW with the 2.8 V6 motor in it. It consumes about 1/2 quart per 1000 miles. His mechanic recommended that he use 10w-40 or 20w-50 to reduce the consumption. But, he also lives in a cold climate that gets down to about 10 degrees F. His delimma is this: 1. He wants to reduce consumption and is considering the heavy oil (10w-40 or 20w-50). But this oil may not flow well in the cold weather and cause some cold start wear. 2. He is concerned about cold starts and wants to go with a 5w-30 or 10w-30 but that means more consumption. He will just top off as needed. What do the gurus advice he do? Option (1) or option (2)?

 

[Bill J.]

Mobil 1 0W-40 Redline 5W-40

 

[MolaKule]

Is the engine new as well? I'd still go with Bill J.'s option.

 

[Giles]

I like the idea of the 0w40 Mobil 1 option. Easy to get and trusted as a factory fill by Mercedes.

 

[VeeDubb]

quote:

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Originally posted by rgiles: I like the idea of the 0w40 Mobil 1 option. Easy to get and trusted as a factory fill by Mercedes.

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Thanks for the responses The engine has less than 10k on it. The factory fill was 5w-40 and it burned almost a quart of that per 1000 miles. Is 10w-40 or 20w-50 a good idea in cold weather?

 

[williar]

I'd stick with the factory-recommended weight, which is probably 5w30. You can deviate to Mobil1 0W40 if you like. During the first 5-10K miles, the engine is still breaking-in and will consume abnormal amounts of oil. Don't do the first oil change until 5K miles to allow proper break-in. I would NOT use 10W40 or 20W50 in a new engine as they need a light oil to cool and lube close-tolerance parts, as well as aid in startup.

 

[mdv]

quote:

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Originally posted by VeeDubb:

quote:

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Originally posted by rgiles: I like the idea of the 0w40 Mobil 1 option. Easy to get and trusted as a factory fill by Mercedes.

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Thanks for the responses The engine has less than 10k on it. The factory fill was 5w-40 and it burned almost a quart of that per 1000 miles. Is 10w-40 or 20w-50 a good idea in cold weather?

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A synthetic 10W-40 would be okay. I wouldn't go with any 20W-50 at those temps. Since the engine is still so new, I would think it would be better to replace a quart every now and then than compromise cold start protection. Both Redline 5W-40 and Mobil 1 0W-40 would probably reduce oil consumption over the factory fill. Amsoil has a great 10W-40 that would be a good buy as well. Edit: Williar, I believe VW approves a 5W-40 for this engine. [ December 11, 2002, 08:24 PM: Message edited by: mdv ]

 

[Scott_in_WI]

I drive a 2001 PT Cruiser, which is notorious for it’s oil consumption (some owners see consumption at a rate of 1qt/1,000 miles). I used Mobil1 10W-30 from 500 miles to 73,000 miles. With Mobil1 I was experiencing oil consumption at a rate of around ½ quart per 1,000 miles. At 73,000 miles, I switched to Schaeffer’s Supreme 7000 10W-30 and much to my surprise the oil level has stayed at the “full” mark for the past 2,500 miles. I’m pretty impressed so far....

 

[Eiron]

VeeDubb, Since it's still in warranty, I'd use caution in deviating from the manual too much. Does the manual allow for oil grades up to 20W-50? Yes, they'd have to prove that the non-recommended grade caused damage, but does your friend really want to worry about having to go thru that? If the manual says it's OK, I don't see why he couldn't switch after 10k miles. I'll say it again: I'm running M1 15W-50 in Northern Colorado (in a much older, weaker engine than you're friend's got) & I'm not having any starting problems down to 15*F so far. However, based on the recent discussions of the newest MB spec, I'll probably switch to the 0W-40 when I'm done with this interval.

 

[dickwells]

I left M1 15W50(pre trisyn) in a Chevy Truck 350 one winter to push the envelope. With this truck anyway, the envelope ended at -20f. When it warmed back up to -10 she popped right off. On the other hand, with 10W30 it started ok at -30 and -80chill factor. That was something, you could not let the clutch out without killing the motor cause the transmission oil was so stiff!